Their fears are not unfounded. According to surveys conducted by Gartner (https://apo-opa.co/4uo4fGQ), some companies are using AI as an excuse to reduce HR headcounts, and 79% of Chief HR Officers told AMS (https://apo-opa.co/4xj8Qg9) that they see notable concerns about job security among their teams.

Supporting human abilities

However, a report published last year by the International Labour Organisation (https://apo-opa.co/3SaBQGM) found that AI and automation are unlikely to replace HR staff. Instead, automation is producing significant productivity improvements for HR staff, says Mignon Wolmarans, HR Product Manager at Deel Local Payroll.

“HR jobs require people with complex problem-solving, creativity, and strong interpersonal skills. These are not abilities that a machine or software can replace. But HR people spend most of their time on manual tasks that actually reduce their ability to focus on priorities where their skills are needed the most.”

This observation comes from working with clients who adopt automation in their HR environments, she adds.

“We sometimes encounter reluctance when we bring up automation, and the resistance is usually around a comfort with manual processes or gaps in training and skills that reduce people’s confidence in technology. But when we work with them to overcome those concerns, they love what automation does and how it gives them more autonomy and focus.”

How automation supports HR

Modern HR platforms, cloud software, can automate many routine HR tasks, either as processes designed by HR teams or as ready-to-use native features. These latter features match frequent HR tasks that would otherwise require significant manual processing, input from multiple people, or both.

Some examples include:

• Leave management: Automate accruals based on length of service, salary grade, or a combination of the two. Automation applies forfeiture rules automatically, and if an employee’s tenure ends, leave encashment is calculated and processed in a single automated action.

• Claims: Self-service custom forms and document attachments streamline overtime and travel claims. These are processed through established rules and approvals, pushed to the responsible managers or heads of departments. As soon as a claim is approved, it automatically updates payslip information.

• E-onboarding: Instead of HR practitioners capturing new employee information manually, ‌newcomers use online forms to complete their basic profile and address information, and attach key documents, all of which are loaded onto their profile and only require approval from HR.

• Performance management: Set up different performance review layouts, forms, and templates for various roles, objectives, and indicators. Participants can attach supporting documents, while reviewers, managers, and other staff can submit their contributions. All the performance data feeds into central dashboards for complete control and visibility of the company’s performance.

These automations reduce manual workloads and errors while extending features to other stakeholders in different departments. Crucially, they don’t replace HR staff and instead give them the capacity to focus on intricate and human-centric activities that require more than capturing data and compiling reports. As mentioned, HR teams can also create automated processes and customised forms.

Creating digital confidence

The best HR software vendors offer training and skills honing for customers. For example, Deel Local Payroll provides training staff and extensive learning resources for its customers, helping them take charge of automation.

“People are most reluctant to adopt automation because of skills gaps, which feeds into fears that the technology will replace them. That’s why we have a dedicated training department, one-to-one training, and e-learning courses that help fill those gaps,” says Wolmarans.

The fear that automation will replace HR people is overstated, even if some company leaders consider it an option. Software cannot compare to what skilled HR professionals do best. But those same professionals focus overwhelmingly on manual tasks, taking time better spent on more complex and strategic priorities.

Automation doesn’t replace HR professionals. When the right platform and vendor support them, it makes them better at their jobs.

• Following its most recent landmark US$215 million equity raise, Spiro is strengthening its leadership team to execute its next phase of pan-African expansion and appoints Anant Badjatya as Group CEO of Spiro.
• Anant Badjatya previously spearheaded Indofast Energy, the IndianOil × SUN Mobility joint venture, where he built one of India’s largest battery-swapping networks with more than 1,800 stations serving approximately 90,000 vehicles daily.

Spiro (http://www.Spironet.com), Africa’s leading electric mobility company, today announced the appointment of Anant Badjatya as Group Chief Executive Officer.

Anant joins Spiro with more than two decades of leadership experience across India, the Middle East and Africa, building and scaling businesses across electric mobility, energy and industrial sectors.

Most recently, he served as CEO of Indofast Energy, the joint venture between IndianOil and SUN Mobility, where he led the development of one of India’s largest battery-swapping networks, comprising more than 1,800 stations and serving nearly 90,000 vehicles daily.

The appointment comes at a pivotal moment for Spiro following its landmark US$215 million financing round, one of the largest investments ever made in Africa’s electric mobility sector. Anant’s broad mandate will span battery swapping, leasing, logistics, energy, and vehicle manufacturing.

Gagan Gupta, Founder and Chairman of Spiro said: 

“As Spiro is accelerating on its mission to transform mobility across Africa through clean, affordable and accessible electric transportation solutions, Anant will consolidate the Group’s strategic initiatives and guide the company through its next chapter of growth and execution in mobility, energy and tech.”

Commenting on his appointment, Anant Badjatya said:

“Africa represents the most exciting frontier for electric mobility.  Spiro has built a unique platform and is exceptionally well positioned to accelerate the transition to cleaner and more accessible mobility across the continent. I look forward to working with our teams, partners and stakeholders to drive the next phase of growth and impact.”

South Africa is pursuing one of the most significant upstream overhauls in its history, anchored by a new law that gives oil and gas their own regulatory regime for the first time. The reforms position the host nation as both a destination for exploration capital and a future producer along an Atlantic margin that has drawn the world’s largest oil companies to the region.

At the center of the shift is the Upstream Petroleum Resources Development Act (UPRDA), which President Cyril Ramaphosa signed into law in October 2024. The Act separates petroleum from the mining statute that has long regulated both sectors. It also creates a single petroleum right covering exploration and production along with a 20% carried interest for the state. The UPRDA awaits a presidential proclamation to take effect, and implementing regulations that went through a further round of industry comment in early 2026 are now being finalized.

Mantashe has emerged as the most forceful advocate for accelerating the sector. He has long-argued that South Africa must shift from importing refined products to producing its own, warning that dependence on foreign supply leaves the economy exposed to global price shocks. This shift becomes increasingly more importance in the current global climate, where supply security has become a major challenge – particularly for import-reliance economies such as South Africa. As such, Mantashe has repeatedly pressed for faster licensing and fewer legal delays to exploration. AEW 2026 is a key platform to bring this discussion to a global audience.

“South Africa has the geology for exploration. Now it is building the regulatory certainty it needs to turn discoveries into bankable projects,” said NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the African Energy Chamber. “A clear petroleum framework and a credible state partner are what international capital needs to commit to the Orange Basin.”

Offshore, TotalEnergies – operator of Block 3B/4B in the Orange Basin – is preparing to begin drilling in South African waters in 2026 pending final regulatory approvals. The acreage sits on trend with the Venus discovery in neighboring Namibia, where TotalEnergies is developing the basin’s first oil project.

Onshore, momentum is building in Mpumalanga, where gas developer Kinetiko Energy’s Amersfoort project has logged sustained high-flow results and is advancing plans for an LNG pilot plant. Mantashe has also signaled that government is moving to lift the long-standing moratorium on shale gas development, with the Petroleum Agency of South Africa (PASA) estimating recoverable Karoo reserves at 209 tcf.

Mantashe is also expected to report on successes of the South African National Petroleum Company (SANPC), the state entity formed in May 2025 through the merger of PetroSA, iGas and the Strategic Fuel Fund. Positioned as the country’s petroleum champion, SANPC is intended to anchor state participation across the value chain as South Africa works toward 6 GW of gas-fired power by 2030.

As AEW 2026 prepares to convene policymakers, investors and operators at the Cape Town International Convention Centre from October 12-16, Mantashe’s address carries added weight as the host nation’s signal to the market. His message is expected to be direct: South Africa is open for upstream investment and ready to move from potential to production.